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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. prune — to trim
  3. drill — army training
  4. drill — a practice
  5. vault — a safe
  6. file — a line of people
  7. cap — of ice
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. stem — to come from
  10. file — a document
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. drill — the tool
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. cap — a lid
  20. prune — to trim
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — help
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. file — a tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com